


The Cute One

by indigorose50



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Twins, Asexual My Unit | Byleth, Crushes, Female My Unit | Byleth, Flirting, It's Myleth/Yuri Just So We're Clear, M/M, Male My Unit | Byleth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29473743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigorose50/pseuds/indigorose50
Summary: Twin professors Byleth and By stop in for coffee before their morning classes and Byleth develops a crush almost instantly. With his constant flirting, the barista, Yuri, makes it easy.(Valentine's Day gift for a friend!)
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Ingrid Brandl Galatea, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	The Cute One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sevarix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevarix/gifts).



> Because the world can always use another coffee shop AU, and I'm addicted to them. Hope you don't mind me taking inspiration from your post, sevarix, but they were great ideas <3 I snuck in a few other ships as well, and I'm crossing my fingers that they're ones you like. I dug through your blog long enough.

This spring semester was going to kick his ass, Byleth had decided. He yawned as he walked through town towards Garreg Mach University. “8am classes are worse when you’re the one teaching them,” he declared.

“Agreed,” his sister said groggily. By cracked her neck spectacularly as she stretched.

Byleth winced at the sounds. “At least it should start getting warmer out soon.”

A bold thing to say with snow piled around them. The sidewalk through town was still icy from the last snowstorm, and the twins kept grabbing each other for support when they hit a slick patch. By checked her watch. “We have some time. Wanna grab a coffee? Dimitri told me this place is pretty good.” She pointed to a shop they were about to pass.

“No offense, By, but your boyfriend literally has no taste.”

“His friends liked it and he said the employees were nice. Also shut up, that joke has never been funny.”

Byleth shrugged that off and peeked into the cafe window. It was open, but barely. He could see one worker behind the counter and another taking down chairs. As he watched, two customers entered, one waving to the man behind the counter.

With a nod to his sister, they entered the shop. It was much warmer in here. Byleth actually unbuttoned his coat and sighed as the heat melted the snow from his boots. His sister was quite the opposite, taking off her coat entirely and scowling at nothing. Winter was her favorite season. He liked to joke that she only liked Dimitri because he was from the north and therefore part snowman. If they were alone, she hit him. If they were in front of Dimitri, she agreed just to hear Dimitri splutter that he was most assuredly _not_ part snowman.

The couple in line ahead of them were chatting with the barista so Byleth took the time to scan the menu. There were the usual suspects: coffee, mocha, tea, iced versions of each. There was also a specialty menu that caught his eye. “Abyssal coffee” looked to be some slow-steeped cold brew. An ambitious drink called “Chalice of Beginnings” claimed to be rejuvenating; a mix of green tea and strawberry açaí. At the bottom of the menu was a handwritten drink titled “Balthus’ Boast”, which didn’t come with a description and triggered Byleth’s curiosity.

“But that’s _terrible_ , Yurikins!” Said one of the women. She had long auburn hair that fell from under her knit cap in lovely waves. Beside her was a blonde woman who looked just as disgruntled.

The barista, “Yurikins” apparently, waved away their sympathies. “It’s par for the course, really. You two are the nicest customers I get before noon.”

The blonde tisked. “Can’t you say something to your manager? People can’t treat you like that.”

“Eh, as long as they pay he doesn’t care. Crappy people have money too.” The bell over the door chimed and “Yurikins” looked up. “Sorry, I should get back to work. A large coffee with vanilla and a medium with caramel, yeah?” He popped open a marker and pulled out two cups.

The women paid and the twins stepped up. Now that Byleth could see the name tag, “Yurikins” was revealed to be Yuri. And he was also revealed to be— there was no better word— _pretty_.

Kind eyes lit up as Byleth approached the counter. Yuri had lavender hair that just reached his shoulders, a small bit of eye shadow, glossy lips, and a charcoal apron tied around his waist. Byleth was suddenly very aware of his own unbrushed hair and stained scarf. How could this man look so perfect so early in the morning?

“Welcome,” Yuri said in a smooth tenor that made Byleth’s face heat up. “What can I get you?”

Byleth suddenly forgot every word he knew in any human language. Thankfully, he had been cursed with a sister. By shifted in front of him. “I’ll take a mocha, please. Medium.”

“Whipped cream?”

“No thanks.”

“Name?”

“Eisner.”

Yuri wrote the name on her cup and passed it to a woman with tan skin and long strawberry hair beside him. Byleth swallowed as Yuri turned to him next. “What can I get you?”

Originally, Byleth had planned to ask for whatever Balthus’ Boast was. But he became aware of the line growing behind him. Apparently Yuri had already had a tough morning, and Byleth didn’t feel like making it worse by ordering a complex drink. “J-Just a black tea, please.”

“What size?”

“Small.”

Yuri looked him up and down. “Hm. Nah. You need a little more than that, friend.” He pulled a medium cup from the stack. He wrote on it and passed it to the woman. 

By moved away, which was her silent way of telling Byleth he was paying. Jerk. He pulled out his wallet as Yuri tapped on the register keys. Passing over his cash, something occurred to Byleth. “You never asked my name.”

“Oh I know your name.” Yuri winked. 

There should be a law against winking this early. Byleth blinked rapidly in the face of it. “Um, have we met before?”

“No.”

“Then how—”

Yuri handed him the change and called, “Next!”

Byleth left the counter, puzzled, and joined his sister on the opposite side of the cafe. She was talking to the two women with familiarity. “This is Dimitri’s friend, Ingrid,” she explained when Byleth joined them. “And her girlfriend, Dorothea. This is my brother Byleth.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ingrid said warmly, shaking his hand. “I’m surprised it took us this long to run into each other.”

“We come here all the time,” Dorothea said. “Yurikins won’t give us free drinks yet but I think we’re almost there.”

Ingrid nudged her. “I told you, no free drinks. He’d get in trouble.”

“Oh, come on. What’s life without a little trouble?”

“We’ve never been here before,” By clarified. “Dimitri told me about this place last week and I figured we’d try it out.”

Dorothea leaned forward and spoke in a harsh whisper, “Don’t order the Shadow’s Text. It’s _way_ too bitter. And if you get on Hapi’s good side she sometimes gives you an extra flavor shot.”

Before long, the red headed barista, who Byleth assumed was Hapi, called out for Dorothea and Ingrid. The couple retrieved their drinks, said goodbye to the twins, and left. 

“Eisner?” By got her drink, sighing as the mocha hit her tongue. 

Hapi looked at the next cup, snorted, filled it with the tea bag and hot water, then called out, “The cute one?”

Someone in line snickered. By’s face was neutral but Byleth could see her jaw working against a smile. Since no one else moved forward, Byleth slowly approached. “Thank you,” he said to the grinning Hapi. He didn’t look at Yuri as he left the shop.

“Holy shit,” By deadpanned as they continued down the sidewalk.

“He was just being nice.”

“Holy _shit_.”

“Drop it.”

“Never. I’m changing the name on your office door.”

“I hope you burn your tongue.” 

They bickered all the way to campus. Luckily their classes took them to different buildings, so Byleth was able to walk the rest of the way to his first class in relative quiet. The tea had warmed him up sufficiently, though Balthus’ Boast still nagged at the back of his mind. 

Byleth felt almost prepared for the day to start as he set up his laptop. But every time he saw “the cute one” written on his cup, he felt his face flush all over again.

* * *

“Let’s stop in for coffee.”

“We had coffee back at dad’s.”

“And we need more.” By tugged on his arm. “Let’s go.”

With a sigh, Byleth allowed her to pull him back into the Wolves’ Den. She hadn’t shut up about Yuri for two days. Yuri was cute and apparently thought Byleth was cute— but that didn’t mean anything.

“He was probably just being nice,” Byleth had argued when she pointed this out.

“You’re hopeless,” By had stated firmly. 

And now they were back. Yuri was behind the counter once again, but this time Ingrid and Dorothea weren’t around. Yuri wasn’t smiling. Byleth tensed; something was wrong.

Just as he registered that, a man stomped past the twins and pushed his way out of the cafe, cursing under his breath. As soon as he was gone, Yuri sighed and rubbed his temples. Hapi pat him on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking that one, Yuri-bird.”

“Yeah. No problem,” Yuri replied tersely. “ _Goddess_ , I hate that guy.”

By turned to leave, no doubt ready to clock the guy who was now stomping down the street, but Byleth grabbed her hood. “No.”

“But—”

“No.”

She groaned and closed the door. Their conversation drew Yuri’s attention, and he straightened immediately, fixing on a thin smile. “Good morning,” he greeted.

By slapped her palms on the counter belligerently. “Are you okay?”

Hapi cracked a smile. Yuri looked taken aback. “I’m fine? Oh, you mean _that_?” He gestured to the door. “Yeah, I’m okay. He’s always like that.”

By’s eyes narrowed. “Is he here a lot?”

“Every morning.”

Once again, By made to leave but Byleth held her back. “You’ll make yourself late for class,” he said when she glared at him.

“There’s no need to trouble yourself over someone like that,” Yuri assured, but he had on a small smile at their antics. Byleth couldn’t help but return it. “Anyway, mocha and tea again?”

“Yes, please.” Then he added, “My name’s Byleth.”

Yuri nodded. “Got it.”

“But…” Byleth cleared his throat. “But if ‘the cute one’ is easier to spell, you can use that.”

Yuri stared at him for a moment. Then a bright smile crossed his face. It was different from his polite “what can I get you?” smile, and _miles_ better than his expression when they had walked in today. “Alright. Cute Byleth it is.”

Behind him, Byleth could _feel_ By giving him a smug smirk. 

Within a few minutes, their drinks were ready. Byleth turned for the door, hesitated, then turned back. He marched purposefully towards the counter, ignoring the looks customers in line shot at him. Yuri’s eyes went wide as Byleth stuffed the tip jar with various bills. “Take care of yourself,” Byleth ordered. Then he marched away again.

“Smooth,” By said once they were outside. 

“Thank you.”

“I was kidding.”

Byleth sipped his tea, ears burning. “Whatever.”

* * *

The twins became frequent visitors of the Wolves’ Den. Yuri was almost always there— but even when he wasn’t, the other employees were a joy. Constance would tell anyone who had a moment her big plans to open her own cafe someday. “Nuvelle Delights will be a household name! You wait and see!”

They met Balthus himself one morning. A tall man who looked more like a gym instructor than a barista, Balthus had a booming laugh that made Byleth more alert than any cup of tea he’d ever had. 

Hapi, they learned, was studying astronomy through classes online. “Bad blood between me and Garreg Mach,” Hapi explained when they asked why she wasn’t just studying at their university. “Besides, this way I don’t have to keep weird hours between work and class. I have a strict sleep schedule.” 

Dorothea and Ingrid met them there more often than not. There were other regulars too— a man named Hubert often came in with his shy girlfriend Bernadetta and ordered for both of them. If Yuri was at the counter, sometimes Bernadetta felt comfortable enough to order. It was strangely adorable. Sometimes they even saw their own students, like Hilda and Marianne from Byleth’s Nabatean Studies course.

The times when Yuri was working were Byleth’s favorite. Byleth didn’t like to hold up the line but Yuri would often make conversation about Byleth’s classes, or compliment him on his outfit, or suggest a pastry he should buy. He sometimes wrote “the cute twin” on his cup, or just “Cute Byleth” with a heart, or once, on a particularly busy day, “B” encircled by a heart.

“Ask him out,” By demanded after a month of this.

“I’m not asking him out while he’s at work,” Byleth said. “That’s just rude.”

“Okay, then give him your number and tell him to call when he’s free.”

“I don’t want to bother him.”

By gestured, with no small amount of frustration, to the cup on his hand. “He wrote “have a great day” on your tea!”

“Well it was a slow morning. He had time.”

“I _cannot_ believe you.” By pulled out her phone. “I’m going to text Dimitri to tell Ingrid to tell Dorothea to set you two up.”

Byleth snatched the phone from her hand. “Absolutely not.”

The two professors gathered strange looks from passing students as they fought for the phone in the middle of campus. One kid from By’s Ancient History course, Claude, stopped to record them until By kicked snow his way. 

Finally, By wretched her phone from Byleth. “You _clearly_ like him!” She cried. Rarely did he see her so worked up. “And he clearly likes _you_! Why are you being difficult?!”

“Because…” Byleth lowered his head, trying to forget there were people still staring. “I’m probably not what he’s looking for. Not really.”

It only took a beat for By to connect the dots. “Because you’re ace?”

Byleth nodded, drinking the last of his tea. The hearts were nice, the subtle flirting was nice, the feeling of being… _wanted_ was _really_ nice. Byleth didn’t want to ruin that. It was all too likely Yuri would stop playing this game if he knew Byleth would never want anything sexual with him. The same thing had happened in the past— and Byleth liked Yuri too much to risk lumping him in with Byleth’s shitty exes. 

By took Byleth’s hand gently, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Listen,” she began quietly, “if he can’t respect that you’re asexual, he’s not worth the tea.”

With a noncommittal hum, Byleth squeezed her hand back. 

“I mean it.”

“I know.” Byleth sighed. “You’re right.”

“What?”

“I said you’re right.”

“Come again?”

“You’re—” Byleth glared. “You’re an asshole.”

She smirked and let go of his hand. “Let’s go, we’ll be late.”

Morning classes went by without issue. Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, which meant Byleth had to contend with horny 20-somethings all day, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. It wasn’t until his office hours after lunch that Byleth even thought about Yuri again. The cup from that morning’s tea still sat on his desk, though it was long empty. 

Byleth looked at the cup for a long moment and came to a decision.

* * *

By and Byleth stopped a few shops down from the Wolves’ Den. “Ready?” By asked.

“Ready,” Byleth lied. 

Before he could keep walking, By grabbed his arm. “Hang on, I have something for you.” She pulled a button from her pocket and fixed it to his coat. When Byleth looked down, he saw he was now wearing an ace pride pin. 

Running a finger over the button, Byleth said thickly, “Thanks.”

By smiled, took his arm, and led him into the Wolves’ Den.

Inside, Dorothea and Ingrid had already gotten their drinks. They waved as the twins entered but quickly turned back to the counter. Byleth felt his sister suck in a sharp breath— it was the man again.

“I don’t understand why you won’t give me my money back,” the man was saying. “Why the _hell_ would I get a drink like this in the middle of February?!”

“You asked for an iced coffee,” Yuri explained as if speaking to a toddler. “I asked ‘are you sure’ and you said ‘are you calling stupid’ and I made your drink.”

“Yeah but I didn’t think it would be so cold.”

“It’s an _iced coffee_ , sir. They only come cold.”

The man glared. “I don’t have to take this. I can get a better drink for half the price anywhere. Just give me my money back.”

“I can’t do that, since you drank half of it already.”

With a curse, the man whirled around and made for the door. “Fucking cross dresser ruining my morning,” he muttered as he pushed between the twins.

That was the last straw for Byleth. He held out his leg and tripped the man. The sidewalk just outside the door was covered with ice, and the man made a satisfying _crack_ as he hit the ground. His drink spilled all over his front and dripped into the street. Ice cubes slide over the curb like hockey pucks.

Dorothea and Hapi burst out laughing. Ingrid gasped. Yuri jumped at the sound.

“You _bastard_!” the man barked as he rolled over. “I’ll—”

But By stepped in front of Byleth and glowered down at the man. It was what Byleth called her Ashen Demon face, and it usually made the recipient pee their pants. The man’s face fell as he beheld By’s expression. Without another word, he scrambled to his feet and fled.

Then By turned that face on Byleth. “ _I_ wanted to do that,” she growled.

As the only one immune to the look, Byleth just ruffled her hair. “Next time. Promise.”

“That was _amazing_!” Dorothea called as they shut the door. She looked to Ingrid. “Dearest, was that a Valentine’s Day gift for me? You _shouldn’t_ have!” She pulled Ingrid in for a quick kiss even as Ingrid laughed and denied it.

Hapi was doing a slow clap. Yuri had a hand on his hip and a gleeful smile. “Well, _that_ was certainly a surprise,” he said. “You have my thanks, friend.”

“No need. He was asking for it.”

“He’s _been_ asking for it,” Hapi agreed with a glare towards the door. “Can we do that every time he comes in?”

“ _We_ can’t. We work here.” Yuri winked at Byleth. “But maybe our loyal customers…” He trailed off, eyes on Byleth’s chest.

Byleth knew exactly what he was looking at and shifted uncomfortably. In the wake of that horrible customer, he had totally forgotten about his new pin.

Yuri stared another moment before a slow smile spread across his face. Without a word, he began to unbutton his shirt. Byleth was puzzled until Yuri pulled back the left side. There, pinned to Yuri’s grey undershirt, was an ace pride flag enamel pin. Those bars of black, grey, white, and purple had never set Byleth more at ease.

Grinning, Byleth stepped forward. “Can I give you my number?”

“ _Finally_!” Yuri popped open his marker and handed it to Byleth along with a cup. “Took you long enough. I was this close to writing “date me” on my forehead.”

Byleth laughed even as his hand shook trying to write his number. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”

“That’s an understatement,” By chipped in. “Can I order my mocha now or did you two wanna make out first?”

“One mocha, coming up.” Yuri, Byleth was surprised to see, was blushing now too. He had rarely seen Yuri look anything but composed. It was cute.

“I’ll have tea,” Byleth said, handing the cup and marker back. 

Yuri shook his head. “Not today, friend. You look over this menu every time you come in. You want something else.”

“Um. I don’t want to make more work for you...”

“I am _literally_ here to work.” Yuri pointed up at the menu. “What do you _really_ want?”

Byleth waffled a few moments more before saying in a rush, “Can I have a small Balthus’ Boast?”

Hapi, Dorothea, and Ingrid all laughed. By pat his shoulder in sympathy. Yuri struggled to hold in his own laugh. “You’ve been coming in here for over a month and _that_ is why you’ve held back from ordering?”

Byleth shrugged, wishing he had never spoken. But Yuri was grinning as he wrote on Byleth’s cup, and Byleth could see him covering it with little hearts. Yuri winked as he passed the cup to Hapi. 

Smiling, Byleth winked back. 


End file.
